By Leslie Saxon, M.D. Executive Director, USC Center for Body Computing; Professor of Medicine, Clinical Scholar, Keck School of Medicine of USC
There have been few things more gratifying to me in my long career as an interventional cardiologist and digital health researcher, than working with the diverse talent at ICT to bring cutting edge health and human performance experiences to active-duty service members.
While my history with ICT doesn’t go back 25 years, my career path crossed with ICT Executive Director Randy Hill in 2013, when we met serving on a USC Athletics Committee. Our shared interest in elite human performance and belief in the promise of technology helping humans resulted in the establishment of a novel program within ICT dedicated to the holistic health and human performance optimization of our nation’s service members.
Both Randy Hill and ICT Managing Director Col Clarke Lethin (retired), welcomed me to ICT and urged me to consider expanding the USC Center for Body Computing’s research portfolio and activities to address the needs of our military. This has resulted in $12-million dollars of Department of Defense-funded research that spans four military bases and has enrolled hundreds of active-duty military service members across our forces.
We are discovering how to preserve service members, in real-time, using specially designed cutting-edge software, sensors, data and experiences that allow participants to understand and prevent the first injury.
I am very grateful to ICT for partnering with me to develop and implement one of the most exciting research programs imaginable. In its 25 years, ICT has made a significant contribution to advancing research that helps our military service members, and it continues to lead the way moving forward.
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BIO:
Dr. Leslie Saxon is a Professor of Medicine, Clinical Scholar, at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Dr. Saxon is an interventional cardiologist that specializes in implantable and wearable devices that are wirelessly connected and treat and diagnose heart conditions and prevent sudden death. Dr. Saxon is a board certified cardiologist and has additional board certification in electrophysiology and heart failure. She has completed over 200 publications in various medical journals and is an active member of a multitude of organizations, and is also a fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society. Dr. Saxon is also the Executive Director of the internationally acclaimed USC Center for Body Computing (CBC). The CBC is currently a place for all USC schools, including medicine, engineering, business and cinematic arts, to form interdisciplinary relationships and accelerate the future of fully integrated, “connected” medicine.
Dr. Saxon participates in the pre-clinical and clinical development and testing of wearable and implanted technology, including networked devices used in medicine, wellness, and performance. She has active research with programs involving connected sensors with elite athletes, military groups and patients. Her work is dedicated to providing users with continuous and protected information about their health or performance status. With her clinical expertise, she is a valuable strategist in developing device models and software solutions that offer engaging user-feedback based on real-time physiologic data.
Her cultivation of critical innovative partnerships to jointly commercialize products within the CBC is essential for furthering and improving the dissemination of medical information, enhancing communication, and improving health outcomes. Dr. Saxon has spoken at various forums including TEDMED, SXSW, and WIRED Health, and is regularly quoted in popular press (WSJ, NYT, BBC and Fast Company).